Tajiks to lose refugee status

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kazakhstan has confirmed that it will soon be withdrawing the refugee status of some 1,500 Tajik nationals living in Central Asia’s largest state. The move comes in accordance with a global recognition that all Tajik refugees - irrespective of their country of asylum - ceased to be refugees after 30 June. “UNHCR is of the opinion that persons from Tajikistan who fled their country as a result of the civil conflict that formally ended in 1997 can avail themselves of the protection of their country of nationality and should in principle no longer be regarded as refugees,” Cesar Dubon, acting country head of UNHCR, said from the Kazakh commercial capital, Almaty, on Thursday. The “ceased circumstances” clauses contained in paragraph 6.A(E) and (F) of the Statute of UNHCR in Article 1.C(5) and (6) of the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees were in principle applicable to these persons, Dubon maintained. According to the UN refugee agency, between 1993 and 2003, some 53,000 Tajiks returned to their homeland from various countries in the region and beyond, and though the return figures have dropped in recent years, returns continued to take place. “The recent lowering of the UN security level to phase one [in Tajikistan] recognises the improved security situation in the country,” Dubon said, noting that the agency’s returnee monitoring missions indicated that returnees had unimpeded access to education, health, legal, basic services and documents. Moreover, all returnees continued to have access to available UNHCR reintegration assistance, such as micro-credit activities. Of those interviewed in areas of return, many returnees were in possession of new Tajik passports or faced no impediments to obtain new documents, he added. “The major problem encountered by returnees is not protection-related, but is instead the difficult economic condition in Tajikistan,” he said. Over 60 percent of Tajikistan’s population lives below the national poverty line and the average monthly salary is little over US $20, according to the World Bank. Observers say that the poverty level in rural areas is even higher. Asked what might happen to those Tajiks who remain in the country once the cessation clause comes into effect, Dubon said that those refugees who voluntarily chose to remain in Kazakhstan would be treated as any other Tajik citizen who was allowed to stay under the bilateral agreements of both countries. Additionally, those who had established local links such as being married to a Kazakh citizen could be assisted by UNHCR for the process of naturalisation, provided they complied with the legal requirements, he said.